celebrate our life changing photography with us

World Photo Day is an international photography event on August 19th that celebrates the passion for photography in our communities! You can learn more about this awesome day here. We're celebrating today with this behind-the-scenes photo of a recent photoshoot of teachers we did in Yida Refugee Camp, South Sudan.

Katie, pictured above in the middle of a photoshoot, recently joined our film team while we were in Yida Refugee Camp. Yida sits right on the international border that divides Sudan and South Sudan. The camp has exploded in size with refugees fleeing from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan due to widespread government attacks against unarmed communities. Today, over 60,000 people call Yida home.

One of the great joys of filmmaking and documentary photography in Sudan is the way we get to use our media to make real impact on the ground. In this photoshoot, Katie captured portraits of dozens of trained teachers in Yida who lack classrooms, resources, and a salary. Thousands of children in Yida do not have access to an education because these teachers don't have the tools they need. But that is about to change.

Katie's photos will soon be in a photography exhibit that fundraises for these teachers and the resources they need to get thousands of children back into a classroom. This Fall, there will also be an online campaign featuring these teachers portraits and information about how you can support them.

A photo is a powerful thing. Happy World Photo Day everyone! If you'd like to support these projects, you can learn more below.

The people of Sudan are overcoming two of the greatest challenges facing humanity today: war and genocide. Operation Broken Silence is working to accelerate their ability to generate lasting change through storytelling, education, advocacy, and emergency relief programs. Here's 3 ways you can help:

1. Support The Yida Photography Exhibit. In May of 2016, Operation Broken Silence commissioned talented photographer Katie Barber to document life in Yida Refugee Camp as part of our organization’s efforts to use media for social change in Sudan. Katie captured over 4,000 photos and several hundred of them have been pre-selected for a traveling photography exhibit our organization is raising funds to build. LEARN MORE »

2. Fundraise For Our Education Program. Since 2015, Operation Broken Silence has been providing funding to fledgling classrooms in Yida Refugee Camp. You can start an online fundraising page to support these efforts. START FUNDRAISING »

3. Give Monthly. You can pitch in a couple of bucks each month to our emergency relief program by joining Civilian Protector, our monthly giving program that brings sustainability to our programs. We also give you some cool perks for joining. START GIVING MONTHLY »